Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Lolita

This book needs to be understood better by our generation, the author wrote this book so that we could easily identify people like Humbert. It is sad that a lot of people took this as a love story, it is not a love story in the slightest. This book is a psychological thriller that you find yourself interested in due to the narrator not being reliable, Humbert will contradict himself throughout the book, and you catch yourself being manipulated by Humbert as you are reading the book, the ability to write like that is incredibly impressive. Humbert is such a horrible character, the fact that you can find him trying to manipulate you after telling you all the disgusting things he did is a strange and scary feeling. This book shows you how easy it is for these people to get away with things like this, and shows how to spot them without even specifically saying it. The way the character of Dolores changes so quickly and abruptly makes it so we the readers, are unable to tell whether she changes due to puberty, age, her realizing she is being abused, Humbert being an unreliable narrator, or a mix of them. Having the readers question the authenticity and truthfulness of a fictional story is a rare thing to do. There are so many hidden messages and double innuendos in the way Humbert writes, that having the annotations helps you truly appreciate the amount of dedication that was put into this book.

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vulpexula's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very challenging, yet important read. I wouldn’t recommend to younger readers or people who are triggered by abuse, as there is absolutely no subtlety in how the subjects are handled.

Nabokov use of rhyme and word play is what hooked me in from the beginning. I think the biggest tragedy of Lolita is our culture’s reaction to it. Instead of a vulnerable victim, the name ‘Lolita’ often brings the idea of a seductive, provocative girl to people’s heads, which is, I believe, exactly what evil people like Humbert want. If society can continue to sexualise young girls, abuse can continue to slip under the radar.

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maxhasfun's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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theplaguedoctorreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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